1964- "Purple Snowflakes" (addenda)

.....The second known Christmas recording by Marvin Gaye also remained unreleased until the 1990's, but is of greater interest (to me, anyway) because it was an original composition. There are two mixes that I know of, one mono and one stereo, and I made note of them in last year's post. The link to that post would be here:

http://lgcmusic02.blogspot.com/2011/02/1964-purple-snowflakes.html

.....What I can add here are the redundant appearances, of which there are a few. I've listed below everything I've been able to find.

• VACD CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY Motown Master Series 37463-6326-2 (Germany) 10/19/93
• VACD A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM MOTOWN- VOLUME ONE Spectrum 544 672-2 (UK) 10/05/01
• VACD A MOTOWN CHRISTMAS VOLUME TWO Motown/Universal 440 016 364-2 (US) 11/06/01
• VACD 20TH CENTURY MASTERS- THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION: THE BEST OF MOTOWN CHRISTMAS VOLUME TWO Motown/Universal 602498-83491-6 (US) 09/13/05
• VA2CD THE ULTIMATE MOTOWN CHRISTMAS COLLECTION Motown/Universal B0013383-02 (US) 10/13/09

.....One quick note: the Funk Brothers' recording of "WINTER WONDERLAND" which was chronologically placed after "PURPLE SNOWFLAKES" last year has been relocated from 1965 to 1968 owing to the number of other mistakes in the liner notes to CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY, where the 1965 date originated. But it should be pointed out that from its first appearance its availability has been almost identical to the list above with the only difference being that it is found on Volume One of the 20th Century Master compilation, not Volume Two. Being secular seasonal songs rather than strictly Christmas songs and both having debuted on the same disc decades after their recording they may be thought of as somehow kindred, or they may be an indication of whether the intended effect of a compilation is meant to be weighted for variety (with as many different artists as possible) or weighted for familiarity (using the three act with the largest Christmas catalogues: The Temptations, The Miracles and The Supremes).

1964 Purple Snowflakes

.....Marvin Gaye seems to have spent ten years intermittently trying to get a Christmas recording of some kind off the ground. The earliest attempt I could find was a live recording of Cole's "THE CHRISTMAS SONG", but this one is not only an original composition, it's a real gem that the public never heard until years after he died. Take your pick, mono or stereo mixes:

• 02:53 "PURPLE SNOWFLAKES" (Dave Hamilton, Clarence Paul)
• performed by Marvin Gaye
• recorded in 1964 but not contemporarily released; instrumental track used for "PRETTY LITTLE BABY" [Tamla 54117 (US) 6/18/65]
• original source: VACD CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY Motown Master Series 37463-6326-2 (G) 10/19/93
• and my source: the same
• produced by Clarence Paul

.....That was the mono; here's the stereo:

• 02:54 "PURPLE SNOWFLAKES" (Clarence Paul, Dave Hamilton)
• performed by Marvin Gaye; background vocals by The Supremes
• recorded November 5 and 7, 1964 but not contemporarily released; "Track used with different lyrics as Gaye's single PRETTY LITTLE BABY, Tamla 543117, June 1965"[*]
• original source: VACD A MOTOWN CHRISTMAS 2 Motown/Universal 440 016 364-2 (US) 11/06/01
• and my source: the same
• produced by Clarence Paul

.....First of all, the [*] is to note that the catalog number is incorrect in the liner notes that came with the stereo version. I gave the correct number with the mono version. Secondly, I want to identify Clarence Paul as a Motown songwriter and producer and Dave Hamilton as a jazz musician in the Funk Brothers. Although both had careers prior to their time in Motown the song seems to be a Motown original with Gaye being the only artist to record it before using the music as the basis for "PRETTY LITTLE BABY", which was credited to Gaye, Paul and Hamilton. And in an odd coincidence, Clarence Paul soon after produced a Stevie Wonder B-side called "PURPLE RAINDROPS", written by Ted Hull and found on the flip of "UPTIGHT (EVERYTHING'S ALRIGHT)" Tamla 54124 (US) 11/22/65.

.....Not exactly a Christmas song per se, it's one of the many seasonal songs that doesn't mention the holiday but is often remembered alongside carols and standards because it so effectively evokes the time of year. Had it been released three years later at the height of psychedelia it might have been remembered differently due to the lyrics alone. Speaking of lyrics, the numerous online sites that clog every musical term search with offers of free lyrics and mp3's are annoying enough, but those purporting to have the lyrics to this song must have set a record for errors. One site calling itself "Song Meanings" had a mistake on nearly every line of every verse. Since this is one of the few songs from that early soul period with only one known recording, how they managed to be so wrong so often is one of those mysteries that, as Spinal Tap said, "is better left unsolved".